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Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID)
Special Education and Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Available in PDF Format for Printing                                  

December 2006

TO:                 District Superintendents

Superintendents of Public and Nonpublic Schools

Organizations, Parents and Individuals Concerned with Special Education

Superintendents of State-Operated and State-Supported Schools

Executive Directors of Approved Private Schools

Principals of Public and Nonpublic Schools

Directors of Special Education

Directors of Pupil Personnel Services

Directors of Approved Preschool Programs and Preschool Educators

Head Start Directors

VESID Regional Offices

SETRC Project Directors and Training Specialists

Early Childhood Direction Centers

Independent Living Centers

Parent Organizations

CBVH Regional Offices

Chairpersons of Committees on Special Education

Chairpersons of Preschool Committees on Special Education

Others Involved with the Education of the Visually Impaired

FROM:           Rebecca H. Cort    

SUBJECT:    Annual Registration of All Students Classified as Legally Blind for Procurement of Special Media Materials Produced by the American Printing House for the Blind

The annual American Printing House for the Blind (APH) census program is administered by the New York State School for the Blind Resource Center (NYSSBRC) located in Batavia, New York.  Enclosed are forms and instructions for the annual census of NEW students who are legally blind. Please do not re-register a student if the student has been previously registered. Your cooperation in designating one person for this process is appreciated, and will help to eliminate duplication of registrations.

The census is used to determine New York State's eligibility for Federal Quota Funds for special media materials produced by APH.  *Materials are available to the school the student attends if he/she is enrolled as of January 1, 2007. The enclosed registration form must be completed and returned no later than March 1, 2007.  No registrations can be submitted after that deadline.

*(A catalog of APH materials is available at www.aph.org)

Students who qualify for this program must fulfill the following eligibility criteria:

• meet the definition of blindness – that is, have a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with best correction or a peripheral field of vision no greater than 20 degrees OR function at the definition of blindness when visual performance is reduced by a brain injury or dysfunction;

• be enrolled in a formally organized public or private, nonprofit educational program of less then college level;

• the federal law limits registration to persons working at less than college level, but places no restrictions on the ages of eligible students.  Educational programs providing services to these students can include public, private and parochial schools.

The enclosed form should be used only for legally blind students who were NOT PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED.  **Separate instructions with lists of students who were previously registered are being sent from the NYSSBRC.

• For eligible students in public school programs in New York City, forms must be returned to: Educational Vision Services Unit, 400 First Avenue, New York, NY 10010, phone (917) 256-4259.

• Students enrolled at the New York State School for the Blind at Batavia, Lavelle School for the Blind, Helen Keller National Center for Deaf‑Blind Youths and Adults, and the New York Institute for Special Education are registered through their own Ex-Officio Trustees and should NOT be sent to the NYSSB Resource Center.

For all other schools and for those in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, NEW registration forms should be returned by FAX or mailed to:

New York State School for the Blind Resource Center- APH

2A Richmond Avenue

Batavia, New York 14020

FAX  (585) 343-0652

**(If you are unsure about your student’s registration status, please contact the NYSSBRC at (585) 343-5384, extension 207.)

Failure to provide all requested information accurately may invalidate the form and delay the process of registration.  Please note the following:

• Infants and preschoolers identified as visual, braille, or auditory readers should be reported using the appropriate media code.

• All eligible individuals over 21 years of age must be registered "AD" in grade.

   

Federal Quota Funds vary annually depending upon congressional appropriation and the total national registration. Under the provisions of the Federal Act to Promote the Education of Blind Children, these quota allocations are not cash payments but are bookkeeping entries credited against the New York State account.

It is recommended that districts assign the responsibility of ordering materials to one person who can also act as a contact between the local district/agency and the NYSSBRC to track the orders and use of the district's total allotment.  Orders for books and materials on the quota allocation should contain:

• the name of the student who will receive the materials and student's school address.

• the name and telephone number of the local district/agency contact person.

• the catalog number(s), price(s), and the net amount(s).

All orders should be submitted to NYSSBRC.  All requested information MUST be included or the order may be returned causing a delay in the arrival of materials.

Materials acquired with Federal Quota Funds are New York State property. Any questions regarding procedures for ordering APH materials may be referred to NYSSBRC, at the above address or by telephone at (585) 343‑5384, extension 207.

REMINDER: Obtaining instructional materials in alternative formats is a process that requires sufficient lead time and clear and timely communication among school personnel.  Orders should be placed as soon as possible so students have access to their instructional materials in a timely manner. Generally, it takes approximately three to four months for texts to be converted to large print.  It takes an average of three to six months for straight literary text (without math, special symbols or graphics) to be converted to Braille.  Mathematics, music, science, social studies or other textbooks containing symbols, maps, graphs and other graphics take an average of six to nine months or longer to produce, as these require special braille codes and hand-created tactile graphic representations or verbal descriptions of graphics that are not reproducible in tactile form.  For textbooks containing higher level mathematics and science or social studies, especially those with many graphics, it may be necessary to provide a course syllabus along with the textbook request, containing the planned dates for the chapters or pages to be covered, in order to assure that the materials needed first are available in time.

Enclosure

Student Grade Placement Categories and Reporting Codes

Review the following student placement categories.  Make certain the placement reported accurately reflects each student's placement. Report the grade placement for each student using the appropriate code shown. Only these codes are accepted.

Adult Students
This includes all eligible participants over school age.

AD:  Adults above school age in educational programs of less than college level.

Students in education programs, but not enrolled in grade 12 or below, must "have a written instruction plan and be enrolled in and attend, on a regular basis, an instructional program of at least 20 hours of instruction per week. Social and leisure programs do not qualify as instructional programs."

Preschool and School Age Students
This is not to include any eligible participants over school age.

REPORT OF VISUAL ACUITY: Even in the case of a non-communicative or non-responsive student, there must be a verification that the child meets the definition of blindness as stated below. Visual acuities have to be indicated using one of the following codes:

The University of the State of New York

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities

New York State Resource Center for Visually Impaired

2A Richmond Avenue, Batavia, NY  14020

(585) 343-5384 / FAX (585) 343-0652

2007-08 REGISTRATION FORM FOR CHILDREN CLASSIFIED AS LEGALLY BLIND

 (Central Visual Acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye after correction or

a field of  vision restricted to a 20 degree arc or less)